St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - St. Louis Cardinals closer Jason Motte underwent successful surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right elbow on Tuesday.

The procedure, was performed by team physician Dr. George Paletta at St. Louis' Mercy Hospital, is expected to sideline Motte for approximately a full year. The right-hander had yet to make an appearance this season after being shut down with an elbow sprain during spring training.

"Surgery went well," Motte wrote on his Twitter account on Tuesday. "One day closer to getting back out there then yesterday."

Motte was coming off a career season in which tied for the National League lead with 42 saves while recording a 2.75 earned run average and 86 strikeouts over 72 innings. For his performance, the 30-year-old was given a two-year, $12 million contract by the Cardinals in January.

Since breaking into the majors with St. Louis in 2008, Motte has compiled a 17-13 record with a 2.87 ERA and 54 saves over 282 career appearances.